Some Things Never Change
by SweetBerries
Summary: Dawson and Joey have been friends since, well, forever. But tonight, they soon find that they like eachother a lot more than they planned on. And when things turn ugly, something as odd as Dawson's asthma brings them closer.
1. Default Chapter

Some Things Never Change  
  
I do NOT own the characters of Dawson's Creek.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Popcorn and a movie. That's all Dawson and I had for plans that Friday night. Or so we had thought. We were supposed to be with his parents and Bessie at some PTA family dinner. But Dawson and I didn't want to go. We would be the only high school kids there. Kids would be tugging on our legs. Not how Dawson or I wanted to spend Friday night. Definitely not. And despite how I felt at first, in the end, I really wished I had went. Dawson and I sat in my living room. Bored. We were flipping through all of the channels to find a movie because my brother Andy had broken the VCR the past week. "Explain to me again why we are not out somewhere doing something interesting. I mean, something interesting besides the PTA dinner." Dawson had said. He seemed a little disappointed. But I didn't care. I knew that he would always ask me questions like that. I think the disappointment part added to the guilt, which right now, I felt. I sighed as I stopped clicking the remote and looked at him.  
  
"Come on Dawson, we always have movie night on Friday." I was right. Ever since we were about seven, we had watched a movie on Friday nights. Sure, we had missed a lot of Fridays, but generally, we had always had Friday night as a movie night. Dawson and had been best friends since, well, forever. Even though our relationship was complicated right now, there were still some things that hadn't changed. His being able to pour guilt on people was one of those things. I had a feeling that soon, everything was going to get even more complicated and things were going to change. Especially with college coming and all. But that wasn't for a few years.  
  
"Can't we change Friday movie night to Friday go out and party night?"  
  
"Like you have ever even been invited to a party." I know, it was harsh, but Dawson and I always made fun of each other. I started to flip through some more channels.  
  
"Even if I have not been invited to a party, it would be hard to get a date." Dawson knew I really didn't like parties, so, he never really asked me to go.  
  
"Just go and meet someone there."  
  
"I would, if everyone didn't think we were going out." I stopped flipping channels. I looked at him.  
  
"People think were going out!?" I said, surprised. I was stunned for a moment. And then, oddly, I smiled. People thought we were going out! Dawson is my best friend. He never knew, but I had liked him. More than a friend. This had been for a while now.  
  
"Yes." He paused. Then he looked at me like I had three heads. "Why are you smiling?!" He sounded outraged, but in a funny way.  
  
"I'm not smiling! I was just thinking." I said matter of factly. Now I was trying not to laugh. I knew Dawson would never take that. He would know it was a lie. He knew me too well.  
  
"Thinking. Yea. Right." We were both laughing now. I picked up a pillow from the couch and hit him in the head. Hard. Time seemed to slow down. I looked at him, smiling. He looked at me, smiling. "Aren't we a little old for this?" he said grabbing a pillow from beside him. I hit him before he could make a move. Then, I jumped up from the couch and ran into the kitchen.  
  
"Your never too old for a pillow fight!" I yelled. Still laughing, he chased me through the kitchen, dining room, and back into the living room. The floor was really slippery, something I hadn't realized before. I lost my balance and slid on my feet towards the couch. My arms flailed and I let out a small scream. He followed behind me, and before we knew what was happening, he flew into me and we both fell onto the ground, laughing, panting, and smiling.  
  
For a moment we glanced at each other and I realized where we were very close on the floor. I was lying on my stomach and he was on his side. We didn't talk for a few minutes. We just looked into each other's eyes, smiling, and catching our breath. We were not even six inches apart. Maybe he did like me like I liked him. My smile deepened. It felt so good to be with him. Alone. Then, suddenly, he hit me with his pillow and for the first time that night everything felt, well, like normal. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
"Popcorn?" I said, holding the bowl out to Dawson so that he could take some if he wanted any. I knew he would take some. After all, it was his favorite food.  
  
"Sure." That's all? I thought. Sure? I knew he was probably just paying attention to the movie. He took some popcorn and looked at the television screen. I took some as well and focused my eyes on him. He caught me. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Oh, no." I said blankly. I needed an excuse. A good one. I looked around, intently, hoping to find something that wasn't in its place. My gaze fell upon the window. It was open, and a breeze was making the curtains move. My forehead crinkled. It couldn't be this dark this early. I checked my watch. It was only around six thirty. And the sky was a dark blue. "Dawson, the sky, isn't it a little dark for six thirty?" He looked out the window too. He looked at me, a little bit of worry in his brow. He then picked up the remote and attempted to switch the channels.  
  
"Let's check the weather channel." That was a good idea. It was probably just going to rain. But something felt odd about the sky which was really dark. I had a feeling that this was more than just your average rainstorm. I worriedly looked back at him while we waited for the weather information to be announced on the news. I focused on his gorgeous green eyes and brown hair. Then I noticed his red cheeks. They reminded me of a day when we were little. I think it was when we were thirteen, just before school started. I didn't want to remember it, but I began to.  
Dawson had insisted on pushing me on the tire swing in our conjoining backyards. It was after a long day of school, a Friday I think. The swing had been there for as long as I could remember. As a joke, he pushed me higher than I wanted to go. But on the way back I twisted the swing and he missed it. The tire hit him in the chest knocking him flat onto the ground. I tried to free myself from the swing, but I had to wait until it stopped. When it stopped, I had finally realized where Dawson was. He was lying on his back. Apparently I had knocked the wind out of him. I scrambled to his side. He was wheezing terribly. His cheeks were red. I knew we were in trouble. I didn't say anything. I knew he was having an asthma attack. I also knew I had to find his medicine. I checked his backpack. No luck. I ran up the yard to his house, but the back door was locked. No one was home at either house. Dawson was supposed to stay over my house that afternoon. I ran to my house and opened my back door by taking my house key from my backpack. I ran through my kitchen and made a wide turn rushing up my stairs to the bathroom. I found his inhaler and flew down the steps. I didn't really think much in that few minutes that it happened. I sprang into action quickly, not even knowing I did so. I hated when this happened, and Dawson was always having an asthma attack. I couldn't remember a day where he wasn't wheezing to begin with. Rushing back to him, he was breathing really heavily and looked bluish. This one was serious. I remember yelling at him, telling him to come on and breathe. The look on his face was now playing over and over in my mind. I forgot I was really just on the couch, watching a movie. "Dawson, come on, breathe!" I yelled. It was like a nightmare. Dawson grabbed me and shook me out of my dream. Now I was the one breathing heavily.  
  
"Joey, it's okay! It's just a dream." His hands gripped tightly on my shoulders was soothing to me. I looked around quickly, just realized it was only a dream. I closed my eyes. "Joey, everything is alright. I'm not having an asthma attack. I'm fine." I opened my eyes, and looked at him and relaxed. He was fine. "You just dazed out for a minute." He smiled at me. It was just like when we were on the floor. I smiled, and then he and I looked at the TV. The weatherman was talking quickly and his arms were moving rapidly about the screen. Red boxes were all over the screen.  
  
"We have a severe thunderstorm and tornado watch for areas surrounding Capeside. We urge all people to stay indoors." He paused and touched his ear. "We now have word that a tornado has touched down in a town around Capeside. I repeat, tornado warning for Capeside areas. That's all we have on that right now, but towns mentioned, please stay tuned for more updates and remember to stay underground if possible and if there is no basement where you are, please stay in a doorway or closet." He kept talking, but thoughts were running through my head like crazy. I could no longer hear him. We lived in Capeside. What if a tornado hit us? What about my parents? What if we got stuck in the basement afterwards? What if Daw- Dawson stopped me in mid-thought.  
  
"Joey, we should prepare to spend the night downstairs. That means that we have to find water, some food, blankets, flashlights, a first aid kit, and batteries. Oh, and a radio too." He was serious. And calm. Then again, Dawson always acted calm in an emergency. It seemed odd that he was the one, but he always knew what to do in any situation. I looked at him, knowing that he had already though up a plan.  
  
"You find some water, food, and flashlights. I'll get the batteries and other stuff." I began to get up from the couch. But Dawson stayed down and put the volume on the television really high. I looked back at him, perplexed. He looked at me, and started to explain. "If we hear any warnings we can run to the basement. It's loud enough to hear almost anywhere in the house." Smart idea, again. I would have never thought of that. He got up, and headed for the kitchen. I nodded and walked away, heading first towards the cabinet in the upstairs hallway. I found some extra blankets and flashlights. I went into the bathroom and opened the drawer under the sink, grabbing the first aid kit. I closed the cabinet door, picked all of my stuff up, and walked cautiously down the stairs. Dawson was already there. I could tell because the basement light was on. I made my way slowly down the steps, hoping not to trip and have anything fall out of my arms. I could barely see over the blankets. I found a plastic bag and put the stuff I had already gotten into it. I got some water and food, and headed for the basement. He must have scored some couch pillows before, as they were in a pile on the floor.  
  
"What did you get?" I said laughing. "You made me get everything?"  
  
"I got the batteries and some couch pillows." He grinned at me, kind of like the look Andy gave me when he was trying to get pay back. I studied his dimples. They were deep. His cheeks were rosy. I smiled and gave him a look as I trudged back up the steps to find the small radio. I ran into my room and searched my desk for one. I knew it was somewhere in there. I pulled out papers and other things, finally finding it after a five minute search. I checked to see if it worked or not. It did, but it was old, dusty, and the static it produced was really loud. I hurriedly flew down the stairs, skipping every two steps. Everything was happening so fast that I almost forgot about my parents and Andy. I knew they were probably fine, being at the school and all. Making my way past the living room, I listened for the TV, but heard a strange beep pattern instead. Making my way towards the TV, I noticed the screen was like a regular news show, but no one was talking. A red strip was flowing across the bottom of the screen. It said TORNADO ALERT FOR CAPESIDE.  
  
"Dawson, we have a tornado alert." I yelled, hoping he heard it from where he was. I grabbed everything and ran for the basement. I somehow, hustling with the radio in my hand, managed to pull the door shut. I gave Dawson the radio and settled in on the floor. Dawson turned on the radio and attempted to find a news station. The lights immediately began to flicker. He paused and looked up.  
  
"Great. I hope the lights don't go out." Dawson said going back to tuning the radio. I kind of wanted the lights to go out. We usually got tornado watches, but never any tornadoes. I sighed. This was going to be a long night. Without any adults. I spoke aloud, not even knowing until I did so. "My sister." Then I remembered. They were at the school. Dawson's too. They had begged me to go, but I didn't want to go to the PTA dinner. I wished I had gone. I missed them.  
  
"They're fine. Everyone is at the school." Dawson, an only child. Lucky. In a way. I guessed I was like his sister. We looked alike. Brown hair and green eyes, lanky bodies. He was a little more built than me. But we could pass as siblings. When we were little, people had always thought we were twins.  
  
"But what about us?" I said. Without an answer from Dawson, thunder went off and the lights went out. What a great answer to my question I thought as I searched the floor for a flashlight and finally finding one, turned it on. The light beamed at Dawson. He squinted his eyes. I redirected the light a little below his face.  
  
"This is going to be a long night." He said and turned the radio off. "The static is terrible. We can live through tonight without the radio." Dawson seemed so sure of himself. He knew what he was doing and why. He was smart. "So, what do you want to do?" Now he was lying on his pillow. I could hear that it was raining outside. Thunder went off.  
  
"Sleep. I'm exhausted." I mumbled. I realized how tired I really was now. I yawned.  
  
"I'm tired too. God night." He said. I said it back to him and we both kid of layed there for maybe ten minutes, hoping to fall asleep. I didn't know if Dawson fell asleep or not, but I knew that I couldn't. I was on alert, adrenalin running through my body. Besides that, I knew that we were both light sleepers. Falling asleep with the thunder was going to be tough. I yawned again and made myself even more comfortable on the floor. Because of the carpet, it was soft. I smiled. I was comfortable all right. I wanted to, but I couldn't close my eyes. I laid there in almost silence. I was thinking about my family. I knew that they were okay, but what about me? I heard an odd noise. Through the rain and thunder it was hard to hear. But I definitely had heard something. I propped myself onto my elbow. I stayed still as ever. I heard it again. I moved slowly towards Dawson and shook him.  
  
"Dawson, wake up." I whispered.  
  
"I'm awake." He said. I guess he hadn't fallen asleep either.  
  
"Did you hear that?"  
  
"Yes, I did." But that was all he had said. I wondered why.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"It's me Joey," he said, slowly getting up, and then sitting up against the wall. Now I could hear it much better. Dawson was wheezing loudly. I now knew what he was talking about. I grabbed the flashlight and turned it on. I aimed it just below his face. His hand was on his chest and he was panting. Great. What a great time to have an asthma attack. I must have said that aloud, because Dawson shot back at me, "It's not." He paused to breathe. "my fault!" Before either of us said another word, the tornado sirens went off. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
"Why didn't you tell me before?" It came out as if I was mad, but I wasn't. I was just worried. He looked at me, giving me an evil look. He didn't want to talk about it. It wasn't anyone's fault though. Between the stress, the running, the dusty radio, it was almost really clear to me now. I should have know what would happen. Now I was really afraid. And he was probably just as afraid as I was. Only he would never say he was scared. Even if he really was. Dawson wouldn't tell you if something was wrong with him either. I should have known before when we were having the pillow fight. He often worried about everyone else first. That's why I liked him so much. I tried the next best thing. I knew what could happen if I didn't go to get his medicine. I also knew what could happen if I did go. The sirens were sounding. No sane person would run through their house while the sirens were on. "I'm going." I had no idea where that came from.  
  
"Don't go." he paused. "I'm fine, really." He swallowed. "I just need to." He paused. "sit for a little while. Please." I could tell he was struggling a bit to get the words out and some air in. I sighed. But you couldn't hear it because the thunder clasped loudly. I looked at Dawson. He had his head against the wall and his eyes were closed. His hand was still on his chest. It was rapidly moving up and down. He was getting worse by the second. I felt really guilty. I didn't-well, I did know what to do, but I didn't want to do it. I should go and get it. I kept saying that. I was scared to go. But he must be even more scared than me. If it was me there, he would go. That did it. I was going. I didn't really know what else to do. I had to find his inhaler. Dawson could die. There was no way I was going to let that happen. I got up and ran for his life.  
  
"Joey!" He yelled. "Don't!" But I ran away from him. I could hear him yelling now and then. He was scared. I was scared, more than I had ever been before. The sirens stopped when I reached my living room. The TV was still on. I kept running, all the way up the stairs, and into the bathroom. I didn't notice if I had really even loved him before. Right now, I knew I had truly started to love him. I opened the cabinet, and I knew I had found his inhaler. Relief came over me as I sped down the stairs. The sirens went on again. I heard a loud rumble. The kitchen shook, and I managed to find the basement steps. A sound louder than a train was coming and getting louder by the second. I closed the door and ran as fast as I could. In the darkness, I found my pillow just as it felt like it was about to get bad. The drains sucked loudly. I couldn't hear Dawson, even if he was yelling, just the drains and the wind. It seemed like forever. My ears popped. They couldn't endure the volume. The wind. The drains. I couldn't take it. Suddenly, it lowered. My ears popped again. The drains stopped. The wind had diminished. I took in a breath of relief. I found the flashlight and turned it on. I looked at Dawson. By now he was really having trouble breathing. He was not taking in much air. He was blue, and his head was cocked to the side. I wish I had his nebulizer, but I didn't even know what outside looked like.  
  
I gave him his inhaler. He shook it and placed it in his mouth. He took a deep breath and pressed down the canister. He held his breath. I waited for a reaction from him. He let his breath out. "Thanks." He said. He was leaning against the wall again, but his eyes were open and his breathing a little bit better, but he still sounded really bad. He took another puff from his inhaler.  
  
"Are you okay?" I was hoping he was okay enough to make it up the stairs.  
  
"Yea. Just give me a few minutes." He looked exhausted. I sighed and sat next to him against the wall. I hoped he was all right. All I wanted to do right now was kiss him. But I couldn't. If he had another attack, I didn't know what I would do. I looked over at him. Still struggling. I closed my eyes and I looked up. God, please let him be okay. Please let him be okay. I opened my eyes and looked up at the ceiling. The house. Oh my gosh. I had forgotten about the rest of the house.  
  
"When we go upstairs, we are going to check on the house." I pushed his hair away from his eyes. He smiled. We sat there for about five minutes and finally, we both decided to go upstairs. He took a puff from his inhaler and I helped him up. I balanced him on one shoulder and we trudged up the stairs.  
  
"I'm fine Joey." He insisted. But he didn't pull his arm away. I opened the door. And saw something unbelievable.  
  
My house was still standing.  
  
Amazing. Except that when I went upstairs, most of the ceiling was gone. Rain was coming in. I slowly let out a breath. Nothing else had been broken. I closed my eyes. Thank God. I opened them to the sound of police car sirens. Looking out the window, I saw some police cars and ambulances coming down the street. When got to the front lawn and a policeman came running towards us.  
  
"Is anyone hurt?" He took one look at Dawson and called an ambulance over.  
  
"I'm fine!" Dawson was being stubborn. I could hear he still wasn't breathing right. I glared at him.  
  
"Dawson, you sound terrible."  
  
"You do. But if you want to go to the school, they have a first aid station there." The policeman said. The ambulance pulled up.  
  
"I want to stay with Joey." He said. I looked at him. He smiled back.  
  
"Take the bus over there. Your sure your all right?" He said.  
  
"Thanks, but I'm fine." He walked towards the bus. I followed him. Dawson found a seat. Some of our neighbors were around us. But I wasn't in the mood to talk to any them. I could sense Dawson looking at me.  
  
"What?" That was all I had said. He grabbed me and kissed me. It was a slow deep kiss. Our lips broke apart. He took a hit from his inhaler. Then smiled. I smiled back. "I love you." I whispered.  
  
"I love you too." He said back. Sometime after the kiss, he fell asleep. I looked around from the windows. Mostly just roofs were ripped off. There was stuff everywhere.  
  
When we got to the school, I woke him up. We walked inside, and gave them our names. "Dawson, you should go to the first aid station." He looked at his inhaler in his hands. I knew he wasn't feeling much better than he had before.  
  
"I want to see my parents." He said. He looked around, and finally found them near a table. He ran.  
  
"Oh my gosh, Dawson!" Dawson's mother was running towards him. My sister saw me. They ran. We all hugged and kissed and exchanged greetings. "Dawson, what happened? Did you. Oh my gosh." He was wheezing. Loudly. "Dawson, we have to get you to first aid." His mom walked him over. I walked to go with them, but Bessie pulled my shirt. I turned around to yell at her, but instead I looked at her and hugged her. If someone hadn't broken the VCR, Dawson and I would have never been watching TV. I hugged her harder. I don't think I had ever loved her more than that moment. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
I woke to the sound of voices around me. Sleepily, I raised my arm up to my face. I looked at my watch. Seven A.M. I sighed. My parents were still sleeping, and so was Andy. I walked around and saw some familiar faces. Not many people were up, something I noticed when I walked around to find Dawson. I finally found him, awake, in the first aid section. "Hey, Dawson, how are you feeling?"  
  
"A lot better. You saved the day again." He was smiling. I smiled back. He grabbed me and pulled me close. He then kissed me again. It was short, but powerful. He kept me close, as if we might kiss again. And that's when I realized, I had always loved him. And that I always would. 


End file.
